Russia detains woman suspected of dismembering rapper husband after overdose

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained a woman in St Petersburg suspected of dismembering her husband, a rapper, after he died of a suspected drug overdose, the RIA news agency cited a law enforcement source as saying on Thursday.

Police found five plastic bags containing the body of her husband, who had died four days earlier, at a flat on St Petersburg's main street, the source said. Police seized a knife, cutting board and a plastic box from the scene.

Russia's Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency that handles probes into serious crimes, said it was working to establish the cause of the man's death. It did not name the woman or man, but gave their dates of birth as 1984 and 1989.

St Petersburg-based media outlet Fontanka identified the man as a rap musician who performed under the pseudonym Andy Cartwright.

It said police learnt of the incident from a lawyer who said the woman had called him to say she had chopped up the body in order to hide it, but no longer knew what to do.

Last year, police detained a distinguished historian known for re-enacting Napoleonic battle scenes with the murder of his partner after he was found in a river with a rucksack containing her severed arms.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alex Richardson)